Recap: Material / Texture

Hey guys,

Here are the videos we watched in Studio with regard to materials and texture. Have a think about the impact using one material can have upon an occupant over another material. What sort of experience do you want to elicit? Is it warmth, comfort, movement, anticipation, etc. etc. How might you conjure these feelings with different use of texture? This is the point of the abstraction of your 36 descriptive words.

Texture in architecture can be a powerful force. Think about what I spoke about the Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.. the sense of fear, change, anxiety, loss, disorientation, instability. These emotions are in part a result of the form and configuration but also of the textures and materials. The smooth bare concrete blocks from a distance appear the same and repetitive, perhaps like a crowd of people, but on closer inspection, each block is a slightly different size, shape and angle, furthermore, some have developed cracks, chips, blemishes... they are all individual - this is a very powerful notion when you consider what it is a memorial for.

Think about how a different material used at the Berlin Memorial would perhaps not be as successful at communicating the intended message... Like pink blocks?

Checklist: So Far

Guys

I know you've been given a lot to work through, but it's important you stay on top of things as we're not going to slow down with the tasks we give you and each new task builds off the previous one so being behind is only going to slow you down further!

Here's a checklist of the things that should have done since starting experiment one and uploaded to your blog BEFORE studio next Thursday;

R Post three images of your creative work

R Find a creative work from Magnus Walker, Issey Miyake & Louise Bourgeois

R Describe each work with a noun, verb and adjective

* Draw 18 sections exploring the relationship of above and below a datum

*  Undertake the sketchup tutorials here

* Develop one of your sections in 3 dimensions with Sketchup Make

* Save two screenshots of your 3D model to your blog

* Design two stairs (one from above, one from below) to suit your 3D model

* Represent each stair with at least two sections/details

* Design a second pair of stairs (one from above, one from below) to suit a different one of your above/below sections

* Represent each stair with at least two sections/details 

* Develop your second section with the stair design included in 3 dimensions with Sketchup Make

* Save two screenshots of your 3D model to your blog

You should be able to check of every one of these items and then you can claim to be up to date and ready to tackle the tasks that will be set next week where we will start exploring textures and materiality.

Recap: Stairs

To give you a bit of insight into the process of a stair being created I thought I might share a post by an American architect, Bob Borson. Bob is not a particularly famous architect but he does nice work and has a fantastic blog called "Life of an Architect" which you may like to follow as it is informative and more often than not, quite funny.

Here is an excerpt from the post "Modern Stairs"

"..the stairs look very simple, at least they look simple to me – and that was the point. Despite all the complicated codes and regulations associated with stairs, despite all the moving parts that went into creating this stairwell, when you look a the finished product, you don’t see any of that."

Have a read of the full blog post here: http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/modern-stairs-the-timeline/

When you are creating your stairs think about what makes your stair significant and distinctive either at the macro level (zoomed out. ie. the shape or path of the whole stair), the micro level (zoomed in. ie. how the stair treads fit together), or both.

Remember you are creating a pair of stairs for two developed sections, and should have two sketched sections/details for each stair. So a total of at least 8 sections/details (representing 4 stairs).

Sketchup

Hi Guys,

In addition to the tutorials that you should be doing via Sketchup's website (www.sketchup.com/learn) here's some other video's for a bit of guidance;

Another good resource is the Sketchucation website. They have a mass of tutorials categorized by difficulty;
Beginner: http://sketchucation.com/resources/tutorials/beginner
Intermediate: http://sketchucation.com/resources/tutorials/intermediate
Advanced: http://sketchucation.com/resources/tutorials/advanced

Recap: Sections

As you all know, week one's task was to create 18 sketch sections "exploring the relationship between two of the projects you chose and the ground line as a datum". I know some of you were a little overwhelmed by the abstract nature of this task, but fear not... that is mostly the point! Architects view the world differently to everybody else, I promise that by the end of first year you will be seeing the world through new eyes, and once you have these new eyes, you will never look at anything the same again! However, seeing the world differently doesn't happen magically - tasks that focus on thinking abstractly will help you to see the world [and architecture] in the way that is different to how everyone else see's it.

A couple of pointers to keep in mind for your sections;

SECTION:No matter how beautiful your drawings are, if you are not focusing on the idea of exploring a section, you're heading down the wrong path, keep on track and keep it to sections [for now at least]. Think about how a section allows you to better understand the relationship of spaces that might not be understood without a section. Have a think about the Pantheon in Rome... for all it's beauty, this is a space that cannot be truly understood without a section.

Remember to treat your hatching as a means to express the difference between solid and void. Perhaps you will use denser hatching to show very solid and loose hatching to show not very solid, or you may use a consistent hatch - whatever the choice, take pride in your hatching and undertake it with care. Space lines evenly. If your lines are supposed to be in the same direction, make sure that they are.

DATUM (above ground or below?):An area where many were heading off track was by drawing "objects" - an object does not have a relationship with a datum (if datum is a difficult concept for you, think of the surface of the ground as being a datum, however a datum is not restricted to being the ground line). Each of your sketch sections should have a distinct below ground space and a distinct above ground space. How your sketch interacts with the datum is up to you... are you entirely above, or entirely below, or are you exploring the relationship both above and below at the same time?

An easy way to judge if you've heading off track:- look at your drawings, could you easily switch the sketch at the bottom with the sketch at the top with little consequence? A below ground space should only belong at the bottom of the page, if not, you're probably still drawing objects!

ABSTRACT YOUR IDEAS:Remember, we're not looking for you to draw a literal interpretation of each of your chosen words. You should try to tap into the essence of the word or the idea of the word. I don't need to be able to identify what your word was just by looking at the sketch, but once I know the word, it should suit the sketch drawn. Sharp lines for an aggressive adjective and soft, gentle curves for a gentle adjective are easy ones, but try to explore the grey are between these extremes.

If you find this part difficult, try breaking your word down - what does this word actually mean? What are its synonyms? What feelings or emotions does this word evoke? What sort of lines would I draw if I was feeling that emotion?

Here are some built examples and their sections incorporating their underground spaces;

Emilio Ambasz - Casa de Retiro Espiritual

Tonkin Zulaikha Greer - Paddington Reservoir Gardens, Sydney

Tadao Ando - Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima

Cheers
Chris

Welcome

Hey Guys

To those of you in my studio group this is where I will post info relevant to your projects as well as somewhere we can communicate with one another. Feel free to comment on any post and I'll do my best to respond as quickly as I can.

I will also create a link to each students blog here so you can follow and establish a dialogue with your fellow students. Please post a comment on this post to tell me your blog address and use the awesome inc. default template when making your blog.

Please ensure that each week you post the previous weeks work as I will be reviewing before each studio.

Thanks
Chris